BP's Attempt to Plug Leaking Well With 'Top Kill' Delayed

Photo: SkyTruth, CCMay 27th Update:'Top Kill' Attempt to Plug Oil Leak is Working, Says Coast Guard Admiral [Updated]Update:Will a Rough Hurricane Season Worsen the BP Oil Spill?How Long Until the Oil Leak is Fixed?It's been over a month since the $560-million oil rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sunk and vast quantities of oil are still leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, causing an environmental catastrophe of epic proportions. Nobody knows how big the impact of this tragedy will be, and nobody can be sure when the flow of oil will be stopped. Unfortunately, BP's latest attempt to fix the leak is being delayed, meaning that more oil will end up in the Gulf (it if even works -- they don't have the greatest track record).Photo: SkyTruth, CC'Top Kill' DelayedBP's plan now (this is probably plan G or H...) is to try to plug the well with pressuried driling mud long enough to be able to seal it permanently with cement. This procedure is called a 'top kill', and unfortunately it has never been tried at this depth, so nobody knows if it's going to work.

This 'top kill' was announced exactly a week ago by BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles, and it was first supposed to happen Sunday, then Tuesday, but BP is now delaying it until Wednesday at the earliest. Let's hope it doesn't get delayed again, because the clock is ticking...